Impact Makers Podcast With Jennifer Mcclure

In today’s world, getting a degree isn’t the only way to making your entrepreneurial dream a reality. Jennifer talks with Claire Coder, a 21-year-old college dropout and founder/CEO of the wildly successful Aunt Flow. Her company provides high-quality menstrual products to a variety of schools, businesses, and organizations, and donates thousands more to women in need across the country. So, where did it all start? Claire takes us back to her high school days and tells Jennifer about the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey: starting a promotional products company at the age of 16. Claire was destined for sales. After becoming a top seller on Etsy and having a blast running her modest company, she realized her passion lay in the entrepreneurial world. The ultimate question for a young mind: where are you going after high school? For Claire, that question has always meant college. But knowing academia wasn’t where she would thrive, Claire kept her eyes on the horizon for any new opportunity. Sometimes ins

The search for one’s true purpose in life is one of the most daunting questions we humans face – but it doesn’t have to be. Jennifer chats with Kevin Monroe, a self-described servant leader who brings his lifelong study of purpose into his work as a leadership coach and consultant, advising both individuals and companies in their search for purpose greater than themselves. How would you describe Kevin Monroe in one word? According to him, that word is “pilgrim.” Kevin tells Jennifer a little bit about how his outlook has changed throughout his life and how getting fired from his position in the church was exactly what he needed to start the next stage of his journey. After 10 years in telecommunications sales and marketing, and after finding out some hard truths about his long-coveted dream job, Kevin left to join a high-tech startup with some friends. Their timing wasn’t so great; as the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, the company dissolved and Kevin was brought back to that nagging question of purpose starin

Staying nimble and agile will take you a long way – in business and in life. Jennifer catches up with her friend Mary Ellen Slayter, pivot master and CEO of Reputation Capital Media Services, LLC, a B2B content marketing agency based out of Baton Rouge. As a successful working wife and loving mother, Mary Ellen has made a huge impact in her field and in the lives of her family, friends and community. The life of Mary Ellen Slayter is a story like no other. Jennifer asks Mary Ellen about how she got to where she is and what she does; she gives Jennifer the lowdown on the work that her new company Reputation Capital Media Services (Rep Cap) is doing, her undergraduate days of studying soil, and tells the story of how she started her career in journalism. Mary Ellen also forwards a convincing case for why kids still need good math and algebra skills in today’s world. After working as a part-time copy editor for the financial desk of the Washington Post, Mary Ellen landed an advice column with a unique pitch. Ma

When it comes to making an impact, nobody brings the fire like Tim Sackett. Jennifer catches up with her old friend and firebrand who isn’t afraid to say, blog and write what’s on his mind. As outspoken leader in his field with 20 years of top-level HR and talent experience, Tim shares what he’s learned working as a talent and HR wizard. Who is Tim Sackett? And why the heck is he so happy? Jennifer asks Tim a little bit about himself and how he entered the recruiting business through his family. Tim tells Jennifer about memories of his mother’s recruiting calls, getting fired by her, and his return to the business after some time in the HR corporate world. Tim’s mom is cut from some rock-hard stuff. Jennifer asks Tim about how she came to start her recruiting company and how she influenced him. Tim tells the story of his more immature and egotistical days, why he was axed by his mom, and how he made his way to corporate HR. How do you spark a passion for HR? Tim talks about the reward of being able to help p

When the market moves as fast and Donald Trump tweets, how should we think about money in the digital age? Jennifer talks with psychologist and behavioral finance expert Dr. Daniel Crosby about his life story and how he has built a career helping both individual investors and institutional clients understand themselves and the psychology of the market. For Daniel Crosby, the beginning of the story started with an ending. Daniel tells Jennifer the story of how he came into the world on the day of his grandfather’s passing and how that has driven him to live his life to its fullest potential. An important part of leading a rich and full life is to always be learning. Daniel talks about how his love for learning and how his academic education laid the groundwork for developing his interpersonal skills which were key to his success later in life. As the son of an investment manager and advisor, the stability and comfort of his father’s profession was an alluring one. But after serving a mission through his churc

Everyone’s journey to becoming an impact maker is different and unique. Today, Jennifer talks with business coach Ben Brooks, the founder and CEO of Pilot, Inc about his path from a rental car company to founding his own digital coaching service, aimed at democratizing career coaching. Ben provides some insights into how he has forged great relationships, created innovative products and built up award-winning initiatives throughout his career. Ben is an impact maker through and through. Jennifer asked Ben about where his journey started and the key moments of his life that led him to where he is today. Ben talks about his “life statement” and his early formative days after graduating from university working at Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Lockheed Martin. Ben delivers some takeaways from what he learned during these years and his mantra for approaching new problems. Whether its fate, destiny or just plain chance, inspiration can arrive at the most unexpected times. Ben talks about how working job at Oliver Wyma

Sometimes making an impact comes down to finding the perfect person for the job. A self-described “recruiting geek” and a woman of many hats, Carmen Hudson is an impact-maker in every sense. She has enjoyed a prestigious career recruiting for Amazon, Starbucks, Yahoo! and Microsoft, and even founded her own social recruiting tech company. Carmen now shares her immense knowledge with her clients through her work at the Recruiting ToolboxSM. Everyone has an origin story. Before diving into the details of her life today, Carmen talks about her history and early career dreams. She describes how she landed in Seattle at Amazon and why her unique skills enabled her to carve out her role as a sourcer at the company. What does expert recruiting look like in the digital age? Carmen gives some insight into her methods of finding top-level talent and how she can find anyone anywhere! Every opportunity can be a stepping stone to something greater. Carmen talks about her journey from Amazon to Starbucks to Yahoo! and som

In this episode, our host Jennifer McClure talks about the importance of developing key relationships when trying to maximize your impact in our world. Digital communication has made it easier to connect with people across the globe but nothing replaces intentional connections and a deep commitment to reciprocity. Jennifer shares her strategy for building relationships and relays some stories about a few amazing people that she has connected with. Jennifer identifies 3 types of people that you should focus on building relationships with. Whether they are in your community, industry or desired area of impact, these intentional relationships will be above and beyond the most enriching, compared to quick-and-easy connections found online. Focus on the long-term! Jennifer stresses the intentional and strategic elements of relationship building and what they mean for your network and business down the road. Keep an eye out for potential mentors, skip the coffee date, and be prepared to make an investment! Many of

For Colin Gautrey, curiosity is key. After a long and storied career in the corporate world with specializations in mergers and acquisitions, international strategy, IT, Sales and Leadership Development, Colin has never stopped being curious about the cutting edge. Through his research, writing, and coaching, he has been working to better equip his clients with practical knowledge about how to achieve results with greater influence. Focus on the future, but not at the expense of the present. Colin talks about why when it comes to achieving your goals, mastering the day-to-day is part of an essential foundation of building long-term influence. While delivering top-notch results is absolutely necessary, it’s only part of the equation; you have to be able to stand out from the crowd in more ways than one. Jennifer and Colin talk about the importance of trust and goodwill relationships within your field that will ensure that everyone knows who you are and what you can do for them. But what is influence? What doe

Does your day job feel like the first part of Shawshank Redemption? It did for Kary Oberbrunner. His day job was a prison, and it took some planning to get out, and the payoff for his patience and effort is a very successful publishing company. If that weren’t enough, part of Kary’s latest book was written in main character Andy Dufresne’s actual cell from the movie. What Kary has to say about life and entrepreneurship will inspire you, and hopefully, ignite your soul. Your pain is your platform. Kary had an early life filled with pain, and rather than honoring his voice, he used self-harm to deal with the pain and anger. But it was his heartbreaking childhood that has become his medium for making an impact on others and, as he calls it, igniting the souls of those he comes in contact with. Self-injury isn’t just physical. Kary believes that another way people do it is by having self-limiting beliefs. It’s an emotional, and sometimes spiritual wound that many people don’t realize they have. He shares the sto

Sarah was given the nickname ‘Buzz’ when she was 3 because she was always buzzing around and getting into things. So when she decided to begin a blog, Buzz was a natural pen name for her. Sarah’s work on ‘The Buzz on HR’ blog has been challenging not just the HR community to be better, but also bringing a healthy dose of racial awareness and proactive problem-solving to the table. Sarah has spent 20 years in the HR departments of many companies. Her latest has been one of the most fast-paced, dramatic jobs she's ever had. Sarah's company installs home security systems, and she shares some of major things she has learned in doing it. First among those are the soft skills that are often overlooked. Sarah a blog called 'The Buzz on HR' but her employer at the time refused to let her use her real name, and she shares the story of trying to hide her identity. She also brings a unique insight into how HR has changed over the years, from when she first started her blog to current day. As a person of color, Sarah ha

Jennifer gets a LOT of questions from many different types of people. Chief among those questions is how she got to where she is in her career. People want to know how she’s managed to make such an impact through her entrepreneurship and her speaking career, so Jennifer has dedicated an episode to the answers of those questions and more. The real reason that Jennifer got to where she is now is because of the others who made an impact on her over the years. She starts at the beginning: how her early life was shaped by growing up in a literal log cabin. From there she ended up in a career that wasn’t quite HR – back then it was called Personnel. Jennifer shares the story of her first job out of college. Her manager told her where her office was, let her know there was a pile of books there, and that she’d have to figure out the Personnel department alone because he had no idea what it was. Jennifer was overjoyed at the prospect. When Jennifer decided to be a stay-at-home mom, her 2-year-old son quickly let her

Mike Kim is one of those guys who doesn’t need much of an introduction. He’s been an online force with his blog and podcast, and the wisdom he freely shares about his experience in leaving corporate America to become an entrepreneur. Today, Jennifer and Mike talk about that journey and what you can learn from it, whether you’re just starting a business or you’re well into it. Mike shares the story of how he escaped the cubicle. It started with a simple question: is this the life I want in 15 years? He didn’t quit his job cold turkey like many others have done. Instead, he had a strategy to gently sidestep from the corporate life into one where he could do what he enjoys. Mike had a unique opportunity to grow his brand while growing his employer’s brand – even though he wasn’t educated in marketing. He hustled and read all he could, and what he learned from his own blog, he applied to his employer’s strategy – and vice versa. This opened the door for Mike to step away from the cubicle. Have you ever heard of

William Tincup isn’t normal. Neither was his marketing agency, who used its eccentricity to shake up an industry that had become boring and stale. You either loved them or hated them. When Tincup stepped away from the agency, he continued marching to the beat of his own drum, with great success. Today Tincup shares some career and life advice from someone who has never followed the rules and has an unconventional way of doing things. Are you ready to shake up your life? Believe it or not, Tincup really is William’s last name. He talks about the interesting Native American origins of the surname and the huge advantage it gives him in organic searches. It’s also a really good whiskey, and the company that makes it has been trying to buy the domain for years. William shares the funny story behind the Super Bowl ad. Tincup has a wide portfolio of college-educated skills including art history. He shares the funny story of how he got his in-state tuition be complimenting a woman’s earrings. But her advice for how

Not long ago, Jennifer went to a conference in Australia, where she was a chairperson and keynote speaker. During the event, two young women approached Jennifer with the desire to improve their careers, but they didn’t know where to go to get the support they needed. This inspired today’s episode. If you’re stuck where you are in your career, you don’t want to miss this one. Jennifer shares the story of the two young women. One referred to herself as ‘just the payroll person.’ The other wasn’t sure how to approach older, more successful people in order to learn from them. During her 25 hour journey back to the US, Jennifer reflected on those issues and the root of what caused them. Do you also feel this way? Before you consider the following actions, think about the people who have had an impact on your life. They don’t wait for others to create a plan. They also give time, money, or attention, especially when it’s about a challenge they’ve faced that you’re experiencing, too. Action 1: Send random calls, te

Steve Browne is a connector in every sense of the word. From a young age, he’s always felt at home ‘swimming in people.’ Today, Jennifer and Steve discuss what makes him a connector, and some of the unique insights he has as a leader and impact maker, including his involvement with the Society for Human Resource Management. Do you want to be the type of leader whose employees love them, and whose businesses thrive because of it? Find out how in today’s episode. Steve talks about how his mother’s suggestion took him from studying engineering into a more people-centric profession. When he’s with people, Steve feels like he’s home, right where he needs to be. He shares a funny story about college, where his classmates voted that he should be… you’ll never guess. You know how some people have ‘rules’ before they let you into their lives? Steve doesn’t, and he shares his philosophy on being an open book, and how it’s helped him make an impact on others. One of the big obstacles to leadership is when a person is a

You’ve heard the term ‘impact’ from the mouths of CEOs and management from many different industries, applied in many different ways. But what does it mean to be an ‘impact maker?’ Today Jennifer shares some heart-touching stories that served as the inspiration for this podcast’s name, and she talks about how to make the connection between changing the world and what we do in our everyday lives. One of the first movements Jennifer joined with the Game Change Campaign through her church. It allowed her to make a real difference in lives around the world through the International Justice Mission. Anjali’s story about being forced into prostitution as a child and being rescued from it changed what Jennifer understood about making an impact. You can hear her story here, at 42:30. Has anyone ever told you that you changed their life? That’s what making an impact truly is. Jennifer talks about how that moment was the start of a new purpose, or rather, honing in on it. Hear Jennifer’s DisruptHR talk here. The goal

Jennifer and Laurie have been friends for years, traveling the world together. But Laurie is more than just a friend. She made an incredible impact on Jennifer’s life and set her on the path to where she is today. Are you stuck or unsure of what to do? Then Laurie will make an impact on YOUR life as well. Will it change the course of your career like it did Jennifer’s? We certainly hope so! One thing that Laurie learned early was that ‘family’ and ‘home’ aren’t necessarily a permanent location. Her childhood was turbulent until they moved in with her grandmother, an opinionated, working class woman. Laurie’s grandmother shaped who Laurie would become, and she shares the lessons from her pragmatic grandmother that she carries with her today. It was Michael Jackson who began Laurie’s writing career. From that point on, Laurie was a writing machine: poetry, stories, term papers. Writing became central to who Laurie was, and she bloomed when blogging became a thing. You might be shocked to learn that Laurie star

The Impact Makers Podcast with Jennifer McClure is a weekly podcast for people who are interested in making a positive difference in the world not only through their work, but also through how they choose to live their lives.